Name______________________________ Period________

Short Story Literary Analysis Essay

Your final project for the short story and Literary Terms Unit will be to write a literary
analysis essay on one of the stories we read as a class. Pick ONE of the following topics:

• Write an essay that examines the theme of ONE of the following stories:
“The Scarlet Ibis,” “Marigolds,” “Harrison Bergeron” “The Sniper,” “The Lady
or the Tiger?” or “The Necklace.”
• Write an essay that examines the author’s use of irony in “The Cask of
Amontillado.”
• Write an essay that examines the author’s use of symbolism in “The Scarlet Ibis,”
or “Marigolds”
• Write an essay that looks at the ways the author builds suspense in “The Most
Dangerous Game”

Brainstorming Steps:
1. Read the sample essay about the theme of “The No-Guitar Blues” on page
259 in Write Source and answer the questions below.
2. Once you have decided which story you are going to write about, begin
filling out the brainstorming outline on the back of this sheet.
3. Write a thesis statement. A thesis statement is the main point of your
paper written in one sentence. Example: In J.D. Salinger’s novel
Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s fear of growing up is expressed
in the way that he idolizes young children.
4. Figure out at least three main points you can make to prove your thesis
statement. Find at least three specific examples and at least three direct
quotes you can use to support your main points.

Your goal today is to pick a topic, write a thesis statement, figure out your three main
points and find examples to back up those points.

Questions in Response to Sample Essay “Fausto’s Guilt” (page 260 in Write Source)
1. What is the thesis of the essay?

2. How does the main character change by the end of the story?

3. Which detail in the essay clearly proves this change?

4. How is the middle part of the essay structured?

Name______________________________ Period________

Write your thesis statement here. It should be one sentence and include both the name of
the story and the author. Remember that the titles of short stories are indicated by
quotation marks (like this: “The Cask of Amontillado”). Use the sample thesis
statement on the other side as a model.

Write a complete sentence that explains each of the main points you want to make in your
essay to support your thesis.

Point #1:

Example:

Direct Quote: (include page number):

Point #2:

Example:

Direct Quote: (include page number):

Point #3:

Example:

Direct Quote: (include page number):

Name______________________________ Period________

Short Story Literary Analysis Essay Assignment Directions

100 points

This essay will be a major grade, so make sure to put your very best effort into your
writing; revise and edit carefully; and turn your essay in on time.

Schedule:
• Write rough draft in class on: Wednesday, February 25

• Revised, typed draft ready for peer editing is due on: Monday, March 2

This draft is an editing version of the rough draft you wrote in class. You must have this
draft complete to earn 25 points. If you don’t have the draft ready, you will lose all 25
points.

The Final Draft is due on: Friday, March 6

Your grade will drop by 10% for every day that your essay is late (That means that
if you hand it in on Monday, March 9, you immediately drop 20% from the grade
your essay would have earned.) I will call your parents if your essay is not turned in
within 2 days of the due date.

Requirements:

Your Essay must be:

• Typed, double-spaced and 12 font with one inch margins

• Your essay should be no shorter than 5 paragraphs and at least 1½ pages long.
Accelerated students see requirements at bottom of this page.
• You must include at least TWO direct quotes (passages copied from the story) as
support for your thesis. The quotes must be properly punctuated and introduced
(or set up)
• Include a copy of your rough draft, typed first draft, and peer edits
• Include a copy of the checklist
• Title your essay! Your title must hint at what your essay is going to be about.
“Gift of the Magi Essay” is not an acceptable title, for example. “Irony in The
Gift of the Magi” is an acceptable title, for example. “The Gift of Irony: Literary
Devices in The Gift of the Magi” is a better title!

Accelerated Students:
For this assignment, your requirements are not much different; however, I expect you to
have a well-organized, cohesive essay with a clear, focused point. You should include at
least 3 different direct quotations that are introduced and properly punctuated. Your
essay should be at least 2 full pages long, which means that you may have 4 or more
body paragraphs. I will ask you to rewrite your essay if it does not meet these
requirements.
Name______________________________ Period________

Essay Checklist

______ I have a title that hints at what my paper will be about.

______ My thesis statement appears in my introductory paragraph

______ The author and title of the story appears in my introductory paragraph

______ I have included at least 2* (* 3 for accelerated) direct quotations from the story
and punctuated and introduced correctly.

______ I have used specific examples from the story to support my thesis

______ I do not have any run-on sentences or sentences fragments in my writing

______ If I used semi-colons, I used them correctly—to separate to complete sentences

that are related

Name______________________________ Period________

Essay Checklist

______ I have a title that hints at what my paper will be about.

______ My thesis statement appears in my introductory paragraph

______ The author and title of the story appears in my introductory paragraph

______ I have included at least 2* (* 3 for accelerated) direct quotations from the story
and punctuated and introduced correctly.

______ I have used specific examples from the story to support my thesis

______ I do not have any run-on sentences or sentences fragments in my writing

______ If I used semi-colons, I used them correctly—to separate to complete sentences

that are related